In 2002, the now late Matriarch Emerita of CCOA, Abp.Meri Spruit opened the annual convocation with an address. During this address, she said:

We Americans have opened our doors, our towns, our sea ports, and the borders into our country in acceptance of immigrants who are now residents in the United States who have escaped the oppression and terror of their own countries. Some have now become American citizens; others have come to our country as visitors. Some of them were born in the United States whose parents have come to our country to enjoy this beautiful home of the free and the brave, who hoped to live quietly in peace. We must trust these people and make them feel welcome. …. We must remind ourselves that they deserve our respect, and that they are God’s children, the same as we are. They should be given the opportunity to live and survive in our country … ”